May called to quiz Prayut on human rights

By The Nation

 

 

Ahead of visit from the Prime Minister of Thailand, Prayut Chan-O-Cha, Amnesty International has called on UK Prime Minister Theresa May to convey her deep concern at the deteriorating human rights situation in the country.

 

Amnesty has repeatedly condemned the imposition of a restrictive human rights environment in Thailand since the 2014 coup, which brought to power the National Council for Peace and Order under General Prayut. 

 

 

Amnesty said the meeting was an opportunity to raise significant human rights concerns about the country, in particular, those relating to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly, which has involved the detention and prosecution of hundreds of individuals. 

 

Amnesty also called on May to condemn the first execution in Thailand since 2009, which was carried out on Monday.

 

Amnesty International UK director Kate Allen said: “Theresa May must not mince her words when she condemns the woeful state of human rights in Thailand. She must convey that this requires the Thai government’s urgent action, regardless of their plans for elections. 

 

 

“Just this week Thailand used the death penalty for the first time in nearly a decade, a grim sign of the country’s human rights decline.

 

“In the four years since the coup, the Thai military have tightened their stranglehold on the country, misusing the criminal justice system to gag critics and scare people into submission.

 

“These sorts of high-level meetings shouldn’t just be about getting out the chequebooks and order forms. In the scramble to secure business deals, Britain must not trade away its ability to speak out about appalling human rights violations.”

 

The UK government has previously highlighted its pursuit of trade deals with Thailand.

 

Amnesty said May should go beyond merely saying she had raised human rights concerns and give details of the specifics of the discussion, including the response of Prayut so that he can be held to any commitments made.

 

May is currently distracted with domestic politics as her divisive Brexit bill makes its way through the House of Commons in a knife-edge vote.

 

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/detail/breakingnews/30348260

 

-- © Copyright The Nation 2018-06-21

 

 

PM May tells Mr Prayuth how much she enjoyed meeting Ms Yingluck during her last visit to the UK, and that she is looking forward to the Thai cookery lessons that Ms Yingluck has offered to give her during her next one (of many).

 

 

 

Edited June 20, 20188 yr by Enoon

The UK should put the screws on him by curtailing trade deals and imposing sanctions. That might reduce the size of his head and bring him to heel and remind him he is a very small cog in a very big international trade wheel.

Yeah, yeah we've done the democracy/human rights thing now about Thaksin and Yingluck.

2 hours ago, webfact said:

Amnesty said May should go beyond merely saying she had raised human rights concerns and give details of the specifics of the discussion, including the response of Prayut so that he can be held to any commitments made.

held to his empty commitments by whom exactly ? public opinion ? he believes in human rights, he , more or less, believes humans have a right to exist; to serve non-elected military generals

Theresa May calls for “free and open elections” in Thailand

By Thai PBS

 

Photo: Britain’s Prime Minister Theresa May shakes hands with Prime Minister Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha during a meeting at 10 Downing Street in London on June 20, 2018.

British Prime Minister Theresa May yesterday called for “free and open elections” in Thailand as she met Prime Minister Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha in London.

 

“The prime minister urged continued progress towards free and open elections in Thailand in line with international standards, including restriction on political parties being lifted at an early stage,” British media quoted her spokesman as saying.

 

From London, Prayut will proceed to Paris where he will meet French President Emmanuel Macron.

 

Source: http://englishnews.thaipbs.or.th/theresa-may-calls-free-open-elections-thailand/

 

-- © Copyright Thai PBS 2018-06-21

9 minutes ago, webfact said:

British Prime Minister Theresa May yesterday called for “free and open elections” in Thailand as she met Prime Minister Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha in London.

Thailand has always had this. Not only can people vote for free, some will get paid for voting.  And it goes without saying, all the official voting booths will be open for the election.

"Looking forward to receiving cooking classes from Yingluck" !!!

 

That must have gone down well ?    lol

What gives her the right to tell other people what to do.!!!

He was only there to ask for the Red Bull runaway's London address

Lets see how much coverage this gets in the UK.

 

Or will it be just ignored that the British PM meets the head of the Thai Junta? 

Why did she even give him the time? Or was that Prawit?

1 minute ago, Morakot said:

Lets see how much coverage this gets in the UK.

 

Or will it be just ignored that the British PM meets the head of the Thai Junta? 

A quick Google search and the UK press seem to have deemed it totally insignificant.

 

I wonder how long the meeting lasted? Mrs May had a rather busy day in Parliament yesterday!

6 minutes ago, Thailand said:

Why did she even give him the time?

She might be looking for new friends post-Brexit. Or merely exchanging notes on how to ruin a country?

Edited June 21, 20188 yr by Morakot

UK Prime Minister Theresa May to convey her deep concern at the deteriorating human rights situation in the country.

 

And Prayut will convey his deep concern that the rest of the world does not understand "Thainess"

Edited June 21, 20188 yr by jaltsc

It's disgusting that the leader of a Military Junta that seized power from an ELECTED GOVERNMENT should even be allowed to enter any Western Democracy, let alone meet their leaders.   In doing so they are allowing them space on the International stage that they should never be permitted to have and encouraging them to believe that their deeds are acceptable.

 

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/pm-meeting-with-prime-minister-prayut-chan-o-cha-of-thailand-20-june-2018

41 minutes ago, rodney earl said:

What gives her the right to tell other people what to do.!!!

What gives you the right to misrepresent a news article?

2 minutes ago, evadgib said:

 

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/pm-meeting-with-prime-minister-prayut-chan-o-cha-of-thailand-20-june-2018

 

2 minutes ago, evadgib said:

 

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/pm-meeting-with-prime-minister-prayut-chan-o-cha-of-thailand-20-june-2018

It'll be interesting to see how Prayut spins the UK Gov version of events!

Free and fair elections,the election will not be free,there have

already been billions of THB spent on populist policies,and

the 500 THB notes will be in abundance in the run up to the

elections,when and if they are held.

regards worgeordie

Ask Assange about human rights in the UK.  Pot & Kettle.

Is Prayut killing people in Lybia , Iraq and Syria ?

 

2 hours ago, rodney earl said:

What gives her the right to tell other people what to do.!!!

 

Earl Rodney, thank you.

 

I'm glad someone says that, because I never cease to be amazed at how the West somehow feels entitled to patronize the rest of the world, especially its former colonies, which it raped and pillaged for centuries with the active support of Western religious authorities. Colonization was brutal, immoral, and based on greed, nothing else. It never factored in the slightest concern about human rights (and still doesn't, now that colonization has morphed from political to economical). The process ended up :

 

1/ creating the massive wealth on which the West now comfortably sits, pretending not to know where it comes from and how it was made,

2/ destroying - blatantly or subtly - most non-Western cultures,

3/ causing a social, economical and political imbalance on the planet which will eventually spell the doom and death of humanity.

 

Much as I admire Voltaire's intelligence, I will never forgive him for having made most of his fortune on the infamous 'triangular trade'. A fact that not many people seem to know, and a mind-boggling paradox which highlights the problem.

 

Did the West (apart from a few powerless individuals) ever truly care about human rights, other than on paper ? Do Western powers (both political and economical) respect human rights nowadays ? If the answer is no, or even 'no, not really' to both these questions, then whence on earth does it get the right to give any form of moral advice to other countries ?

 

 

Edited June 21, 20188 yr by Yann55

Why is May meeting an unelected General?  she should be ashamed

she should never meet with this self appointed arrogant General who wants to continue as PM after any Fake elections. " Definition of "Free and fair" is certainly not the same in UK and Thailand

Edited June 21, 20188 yr by markaoffy

555 She's a blast pot calling the kettle black, on human rights etc,.. 

3 hours ago, baboon said:

What gives you the right to misrepresent a news article?

Freedom of speech (both)??

2 hours ago, Yann55 said:

 

Earl Rodney, thank you.

 

I'm glad someone says that, because I never cease to be amazed at how the West somehow feels entitled to patronize the rest of the world, especially its former colonies, which it raped and pillaged for centuries with the active support of Western religious authorities. Colonization was brutal, immoral, and based on greed, nothing else. It never factored in the slightest concern about human rights (and still doesn't, now that colonization has morphed from political to economical). The process ended up :

 

1/ creating the massive wealth on which the West now comfortably sits, pretending not to know where it comes from and how it was made,

2/ destroying - blatantly or subtly - most non-Western cultures,

3/ causing a social, economical and political imbalance on the planet which will eventually spell the doom and death of humanity.

 

Much as I admire Voltaire's intelligence, I will never forgive him for having made most of his fortune on the infamous 'triangular trade'. A fact that not many people seem to know, and a mind-boggling paradox which highlights the problem.

 

Did the West (apart from a few powerless individuals) ever truly care about human rights, other than on paper ? Do Western powers (both political and economical) respect human rights nowadays ? If the answer is no, or even 'no, not really' to both these questions, then whence on earth does it get the right to give any form of moral advice to other countries ?

 

 

And, of course, we should really blame the Romans and then the Vikings for their expansion into the British Isles for all this mess. Blaming the past is a load of <deleted> whether personal, communal or global. If it wasn't for transportation, I could've been educated at Cambridge instead of ANU. Should I blame the Poms for that???

 

And, if Khun Prayut wants Thailand to be part of a global scene, he's gotta  take it from others, besides the Chinese and the Burmese generals. It's like winning the lottery, there will always be people who'll tell you what to do with your money. You just eat the meat and spit out the bones.

3 hours ago, BuaBS said:

Ask Assange about human rights in the UK.  Pot & Kettle.

Is Prayut killing people in Lybia , Iraq and Syria ?

 

Does shooting his own people counts for Prayut? Not sure UK has attitude adjustment and 112. Just asking. 

4 hours ago, trainman34014 said:

It's disgusting that the leader of a Military Junta that seized power from an ELECTED GOVERNMENT should even be allowed to enter any Western Democracy, let alone meet their leaders.   In doing so they are allowing them space on the International stage that they should never be permitted to have and encouraging them to believe that their deeds are acceptable.

Doesn't exactly make me proud to be a Brit.

Equally disgusted.

7 hours ago, Cadbury said:

The UK should put the screws on him by curtailing trade deals and imposing sanctions. That might reduce the size of his head and bring him to heel and remind him he is a very small cog in a very big international trade wheel.

 

You reckon. I doubt May gives a fig for what Amnesty Int say.

 

More likely eyeing trade deals post Brexit. Not much else on her mind. 

 

Of course the usual diplo speak <deleted> will be announced, but that's just par for the course/